Commission weighs maintenance choices

Posted: Thursday, May 10, 2001

Kevin Welchkwelch@amarillonet.com

Confusion and concern filled the Randall County commissioners' courtroom Tuesday as they discussed the question of which option to chose to alleviate problems with inefficient heating, air conditioning and lighting systems.

Johnson Controls representative Randy Carman, who has made several presentations to commissioners, added a third option at the meeting, based on the analysis the company did on various county buildings.

After intensive questioning by the commissioners seeking to determine how much more the county would be paying for maintenance, no decision was made.

"I'm not prepared to vote for this today and I'll never be ready to vote for this until you can present more straightforward numbers,'' said County Judge Ted Wood. "The bottom line is if we were to agree to do this, we wouldn't be saving money.''

Commissioner Craig Gualtiere suggested tabling the issue until Carman could provide more information to clear up the confusion.

"I thought I was being fairly clear,'' Carman said.

The financial balancing act involves juggling the borrowing of money to buy new equipment; payments to Johnson Controls; guaranteed annual savings on energy of $17,000; and reduced maintenance costs due to the newer equipment.

The first option involves a 15-year contract period during which the county would pay about $1.4 million to have $573,000 of equipment replaced and preventative maintenance done on new and existing equipment.

The second option also covers 15 years and could cost about $2.8 million. In this plan, Johnson Controls would provide a staff member to work in the county's maintenance department, mostly on heating and air systems. Johnson Controls would also take financial responsibility for those systems in the North Annex, South Annex, Amarillo Annex, the third floor of the Justice Building and the former Norwest Bank building.

Option three would cost about $2.3 million, giving financial responsibility to Johnson Controls for the heating and air systems in the five buildings. The company would use its employees to give some support to the county's maintenance staff.